Pee an

Sg hg d Tayo ba wren

a a ee
’ Le

Victoria B.C.

VEV 1X4 OT

Skeena saw

Purchase
of Tay-M

pending

by Michael Kelly —

TERRACE— Over 100 workers
employed by Skeena Sawmills
have been apprehensive about the
future for two years now because
the mill’s parent company West-
Fraser has expressed the intent to

move the operation to Kitimat at |:
some point in the next few years. |

‘Some of that apprehension may be
dispelled if a deal in the works
with an independent Terrace log-
ging company goes through.

Robert York, owner of Tay-M
Logging, confirmed Friday in an
interview that the sale of his forest
licence in the North Kalum to
West Fraser should be complete
sometime this week, provided the
transfer is approved by the Minis-
try of Forests. Tay-M’s tenure
allows a 360,000 cubic meter
annual cut in the region between
Meziadin Junction and the Bell-
Irving River valley.

West Fraser’s plans to move the
sawmill to Kitimat reflect the fact
that harvesting on their Tree Farm
Licence 41 is moving further south
as time goes by. It doesn’t make
economic sense for them to harvest
sawlogs on the Douglas Channel,
barge them to Kitimat, truck them
to Terrace, and then truck the
finished lumber back to Kitimat
for export. A major licence north
of Terrace, however, may be a

. reason to reconsider their strategy.

Russ Clinton, vice president of

"woodlands for West Fraser, said in
‘an interview from Quesnel that

acquisition of the new licence
“could affect the decision to

* move". He cautioned, however,
-. that not all the North Kalum tim-
_ ber "would necessarily be tributary

to Terrace".
— Continued on page A15

ge

~ ae 5

gislative Library,
Parliament Buildings

VANDER ZALM VISITS |
KITWANCOOL — A2

NOU TF

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1990
_ Vol. 6, Issue No. 31

Phone 635-7840
Fax 635-7269

The Deep Creek reservoir is taking on a parched look due to a near record-breaking stretch of hot dry weather. Concemed Public
Works officials have put tight restrictions on water use and say they're prepared to enforce them.

City water supply critically low

by Tod Strachan

TERRACE— It’s hot. No one
needs to point out that simple fact.
We were on the verge yesterday of
breaking our all-time record for the
number of hours of sunshine in
July, and by now we may have
done: that.

The prediction, however, was for
cloud cover yesterday afternoon
and that may have cut us a few
minutes short. While many resi-
dents are enjoying this spell of
tropical weather, it’s not without
its problems... the biggest one
being that the situation with the
City of Terrace water supply is
now being described as critical.

From last Friday to Sunday, the
City of Terrace used around 20
million litres of water each day.

speee an noe cept ay .!
7S a nag AIRE NENG TET 25) Mle aa vernnes aban bates Ts we wa wen a

1

Most of this usage is due to the
weather, says director of engineer-
ing Stew Christensen. An average
day’s water usage in the winter is
only around six million litres a
day. But hot or not, last weekend’s

water usage by Terrace residents |

was excessive, even with watering
restrictions, and as a result more
severe restrictions have been
imposed. Odd numbered houses
can still water on odd numbered
days and even numbered houses on
alternate days, but now only
between the hours of 9 p.m. to 11
p.m. These restrictions will ensure
a sufficient water supply for fire
protection, and that’s the city’s
primary concern.

But that’s only two hours of
sprinkling every second day, and
unlike earlier restriclions which

were really on the honour system
says Christensen, the city will be
monitoring water usage until the
situation changes. And for those
who choose to treat the situation
lightly, city officials have a 1980
bylaw with enough teeth to be
worth noting.

Section 26 of the bylaw gives the
city the authority to impose water
restrictions, and Sections 28 and
31 give them the authority to dis-
connect water service and impose
a fine of up to $500. So if you
choose to water your lawn or road
outside your allotted hours —
beware.

The current situation isn’t sur-
prising, given our weather and the
fact that most people in areas such
as ours think of water as an end-
less resource, but this isn’t truc.

The water level at the city’s Deep
Creek reservoir dropped two feet
over the weekend, and if the cur-
rent level of usage continues it will
be dry in only about four days.
The city can augment the Deep
Creek supply by pumping up to 16
million litres of water from the
Skeena each day but that’s already
being done.

There are, of course, solutions,
says Christensen, but they’re all
very expensive. The pipe from the
Skeena to water storage areas on
the bench is only 10 inches in
diameter and can’t transport more
than 16 million litres of water per
day. That was adequate a few
years ago, but replacing it now
would cost a lot of money, Enlarg-

_ ing the 30-year-old Deep Creek

— Continued on page A2